Army refiles charges against Watada

[PoiBoy]

http://starbulletin.com/breaking/breaking.php?id=5484

<snip>
The Army today refiled its charges against 1st Lt. Ehren Watada following a mistrial earlier this month.

Watada, 28, is again charged with missing a movement by failing to report to his Fort Lewis-based Stryker Brigade Combat team when it shipped out to Iraq last June. He is also charged with conduct unbecoming an officer.

The maximum punishment is dismissal from the Army and a jail term of six years.

There was no immediate comment from his Honolulu attorney Eric Seitz.

Watada’s first court martial resulted in a mistrial on Feb. 7.
<end>

This is just breaking in our local paper... more details will be filed later...




Also, this article was filed in yesterday's edition:
New trial for Watada could start in summer
http://starbulletin.com/2007/02/22/news/story08.html

I guess they just can't afford to let the LT. go...
<snip>
As for status of the 28-year-old Honolulu native, Seitz said "he is still waiting, and he has passed his term on obligated service," which ended in December. "He just continues to go to work."
<end>

[Joanne98]

1. Poor guy! Was he the one who was in Fahrenheit 911?

[Tom Joad]

4. No he wasn't.

[Monkeyman]

2. Told you guys they won't let it go

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Of course they won't

[Tom Joad]

5. Doesn't mean they will win.

[Monkeyman]

9. If they get a mistrail again they will file again

They want to lock this kid up.

[Warpy]

6. They'll try to pressure him into some sort of plea bargain

like 6 months in the can followed by a general discharge instead of a dishonorable one.

Trust me, they want it to go away. They just want something out of it.

[Monkeyman]

11. I wish you where right

But he got to much coverage its about the war.

[sanskritwarrior]

18. No they don't want it to go away.......

The scuttlebutt out of Fort Lewis is they are searching all angles to bring more charges against him....he will go to jail for no other reason than the Army must set an example........

[oldtimecanuk]

7. I personally think Watada is to determined to bargain.. unless...

his Defense staff tell him that it is best for him.... I am praying that he wins though... For all service members out there...

ww

[Tom Joad]

13. He wants to resign his post. That is what he asked for a long time ago

They could have let him go quietly... but no, they had to make an example of him.

[judaspriestess]

8. Now its just a matter of time before they sick the IRS on him

sad, sad, sad

[oldtimecanuk]

10. Huh.. Why the IRS? I am missing that post!... eom

[meldroc]

12. This may violate Constitutional protection against double jeopardy.

If I were Watada's defense attorney I'd file motions to dismiss.

IIRC, in the event of a mistrial, charges may only be refiled if the mistrial ruling was requested by the defense. Charges may not be refiled if the mistrial was requested by the prosecution or done by the judge (as happened in Watada's case.) This is to prevent prosecutors and sympathetic judges from deliberately sabotaging the trial and taking a mulligan when things don't go their way, which is what the double-jeopardy clause is intended to prevent.

[Tom Joad]

14. Yes, it seemed the only reason for the mistrial is that it was not going well for the prosecution.

Prosecution only gets one chance.

[MonkeyFunk]

15. military courts

are pretty different from civilian courts. I'm not sure the same rules re: double jeopardy apply.

[Monkeyman]

16. Bingo it does not apply

[meldroc]

17. I hope that's not the case.

I just googled, and found quotes from older news articles where Watada's lawyer said he'd file motions to dismiss any refiled charges with prejudice, using double-jeopardy grounds. I haven't been able to find anything to suggest military law doesn't prohibit double-jeopardy.

[sanskritwarrior]

19. The trial never finished

double jeopardy does not exist under UCMJ and this type of mistrial......

[sanskritwarrior]

20. Double jeopardy.......

There are three essential protections included in double jeopardy: protection from being retried for the same crime after an acquittal; protection from retrial after a conviction; and protection from being punished multiple times for the same offense.

[sanskritwarrior]

21. Courts martial

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courts-martial_in_the_United_States

[uppityperson]

22. k&r for an honorable man willing to suffer the consequences of his morality.